Tranmere Rovers fixtures 2003/04

THE Football League fixtures for the 2003/04 season sees the first of Tranmere's five fixtures in August take place at Prenton Park where Rovers will try to continue their unbeaten run from last season against Brentford on August 9th.

THE Football League fixtures for the 2003/04 season sees the first of Tranmere's five fixtures in August take place at Prenton Park where Rovers will try to continue their 15-game unbeaten run from last season against Brentford on August 9th.

The first away game of the new campaign sees Mathias' men travel to the North East to play newly-promoted Hartlepool United and is followed by a first-ever meeting with last season's Third Division champions, Rushden & Diamonds (Aug 23rd) and an August Bank-Holiday trip to Stockport County.

September brings difficult away games to Sheffield Wednesday (6th) and Bristol City (16) and concludes with the eagerly-anticipated resumption of derby hostilities against newly-promoted Wrexham at Prenton Park (Sept 27th).

Oldham Athletic are scheduled to visit the Wirral on October 18th - their precarious financial situation permitting - followed four days later by another home game against old play-off foes Swindon Town. A trip to beaten play-off finalists QPR on 25th October will see Tranmere hoping to repeat their dramatic late win there last term.

An attractive Christmas programme sees relegated Brighton & Hove Albion (20th Dec) and Sheffield Wednesday (28th Dec) travel to Birkenhead with a Boxing Day trip to the seaside to face Blackpool sandwiched in between. The return with Steve McMahon's men kicks off an important sequence of games in February, with a trip to Boundary Park to play Oldham (Feb 21st) in between important home games against Plymouth Argyle (Feb 14th) and QPR (Feb 28th).

The trip to the Racecourse Ground for the return derby against Wrexham takes place on April 3rd (F.A. Cup commitments permitting!) and heralds the start of a manageable-looking run-in that sees Rovers visit Port Vale in their last away game (May 1st) and entertain Grimsby Town a week later on the last day of a season, which all Tranmere fans hope will end their three-year quest to return to the First Division.

* Some of these fixtures are subject to change due to Sky TV and FA Cup fixtures.